Not worth hurting myself? Did he doubt how much I cared for him? He was crazy. Despite fighting it every turn I could, my intense love for Wyatt was no longer possible to deny. We were made for each other, and I wasn’t being overly dramatic when I told him I didn’t want to live in a world without him. I didn’t. We hadn’t even gotten the chance to truly be together. Part of that was my fault. Fighting destiny is a dangerous business. But beyond that life had gotten in the way. That seemed to be the story of my life. Anytime things seemed simple and quiet, something came out of the blue to send everything ablaze again.

I steeled myself. Now wasn’t the time to feel woeful about my lot in life. If we made it through all this alive, we’d search for some normalcy together. “We need to remove any of Veronica’s influence over you so we can focus on helping everyone else. Abilities or not.”

“Do we have time for that? We can’t just sit back.” Wyatt ran a hand over the stubble on his chain.

Glendale flipped his tail. “You don’t get it, do you?”

“Get what?” I was getting tiresomely used to not getting things.

“That not only will Wyatt be of no service until he lets you help him, but he will be a liability.”

“Because he may actually cause harm…” The enormity of what Glendale was saying set in. I turned to Wyatt. “You stopped before because I was there, but what if I wasn’t? What if you’d…”

He cringed. “I understand the point, but do you really think this is possible? To break the strings?”

“What’s the alternative?” I looked deep into his eyes making sure there wasn’t more lurking under the surface he wasn’t telling me.

“I could stay far away…” Wyatt trailed off, carefully avoiding my eyes.

Glendale rolled his eyes. “Far away from Hailey. Right. I’d laugh, but I don’t feel like it.”

“Can you promise our friends are safe?” Once I knew that I could more easily focus on the issue at hand.

“They are safe.” Glendale moved to his feet and sauntered over in his graceful feline way. “Veronica can’t find them where I put them.”

“And Allie and Levi? Veronica isn’t going to do anything to them?” I may have been in the closest thing to a fight I’d ever had with Allie, but I’d still do anything to protect her.

Glendale settled down on the ground at my feet. “She won’t because Veronica isn’t in charge. Randolph is.”

“Well, will Randolph hurt them?” It didn’t really matter the who. “And who is Randolph?” Maybe it didn’t matter who hurt them, but it mattered who was in charge.

“Randolph was one of the most powerful demons out there.”

“Was?” Wyatt stood beside me.

“Yes. Was. Past tense. He took a gamble and gave away much of his power.” Glendale closed his eyes, and for a moment I thought he was sleeping.

“To you? Did he give the power to you?” I asked.

Glendale laughed. “Me? No? If I had Randolph’s power combined with mine, I wouldn’t be wasting my time with you. I wouldn’t need to worry about staying on your side.”

“I thought part of why you’re here is because you ‘kind of’ like us.” I put ‘kind of’ in air quotes.

“Like can only go so far. Besides, I only said if. As I don’t actually have such ability, I’m not going anywhere.”

Wyatt and I exchanged looks. Were we really putting all our faith in a cat who’d turn his back on us if he could? We didn’t have any other choice though, did we? “Ok. So, if he didn’t give you his power, what happened?”

“He wanted more power than he could muster himself. He picked some desperate magic practitioners and shared his power. He’s banking on his plan working out, but it requires that both of you get involved.”

“Wait. I thought he was already a really powerful demon.” I watched Glendale, waiting for him to finally open his eyes.

He opened one eye. “Yes, but who is ever content with their level of power? We all want more.”

“Speak for yourself,” I mumbled.

“Oh? Are you not the Pteron who has worked her whole life to prove she’s equal to her male counterparts? Are you not the one screaming for change?”

I brushed aside how weird it was that Glendale knew that about me. “I’m not screaming for anything. I’m pushing for change and equality. That’s not a quest for power.”

“Yes, it is. It’s a quest for an equality of power.”

“Ok. Forget I said anything about that. You said he needed both of us. What do we have to do with anything?” As infuriating as conversing with Glendale could be, we were gaining far more information than we’d been able to glean elsewhere.

“I’m still stuck on what he said earlier. He admitted he’d turn on us as soon as he no longer viewed us as helpful.” Wyatt glared.

“Come off that. We are working together now. You can trust me until Randolph is defeated and Hailey’s precious Society is safe. Ok?” Glendale opened his other eye. “Is that enough to finally move past this boring subject?”

“Fine.” Wyatt’s nodded tersely. “Explain why he wants Hailey as his third. She’s not a witch or sorceress.”

“Wait. What?” I looked between Glendale and Wyatt. “What third?”

“You must know what a third is.” Glendale watched me.

“Nope. Not at all,” I admitted.

“It is unbelievable how little your generation has been taught.”

“Yeah, I agree with you there.” It wasn’t worth arguing when he was completely right. “So please fill me in on this.”

“Randolph needs three powerful vessels to harness his power. It’s the only way he can survive.”

“Ok. And based on Wyatt’s response those vessels need to be witches and sorceresses?” I hated being the one who knew absolutely nothing about the issue at hand, but unfortunately, that couldn’t be helped. “Unless I’m missing something, that means I can’t be a vessel.”

“My guess is Randolph must have foreseen who you would become. He’s always had a bit of a prophetic eye.”

“Because being the most powerful demon isn’t enough,” Wyatt murmured.

“How do you think he got so powerful?” Glendale winked. At least it looked like he did.

“You mean he knew I’d become a Lightness? A Lightness is still not a witch.”

“No, but it means you have magical abilities. Powerful ones even if not in the traditional sense.”

“Ok. Accepting that. Why me? Why not use someone who has a better grasp of their abilities, if any magical being would do?”

“Who said any magical being would do? He needs powerful. You can’t get much more powerful than a Pteron-Lightness hybrid.”

“And what about the Emerald?” Wyatt interrupted. “What am I missing?”

“Emerald?” I spun to Wyatt. “Is there really more I don’t know about?”

Glendale groaned. “We are going to be here all day if I have to explain everything to you two.”

“But how can we do anything if we don’t have the proper information?” That was generally the problem with everything. My entire generation of Pterons had been given an incomplete education, and we lacked the basic knowledge and tools to protect ourselves or our world from threats. “I assume this Emerald has something to do with Wyatt?”

“It does.” Glendale stretched his paws out in front of him. “It’s time for a history lesson. Make yourselves comfortable. This is going to be awhile.”

“I’d rather stand.” Relaxing in any way was out of the question.

A couch materialized out of thin air, and Wyatt and I were pushed down onto it.

Wyatt pressed a hand into the cushion beneath us. “I see you have learned some new tricks, Glendale.”

He grinned. “I’m glad you’ve noticed. Remember that when the war starts. As I said, there’s a reason I’m risking my neck to help you.”

“The war?” A shiver of fear ran up my spine. “What are you talking about?”

“I’ll weave this answer into your history lesson.”

I sighed. “Fantastic.”

“Is that sarcasm I detect?”

“Hailey sarcastic? Nope. None.” Wyatt put an arm around me, and I leaned into his side.

With everything going on I shouldn’t have enjoyed the comfort he offered, but I did. After my dungeon experience, I needed it. If we had to sit and listen, I might as well do it on my own terms.

“Don’t look so glum. I’ll try to make this interesting for you.” Glendale cleared his throat. “The Emerald Flame is a very old organization.”

“Yes. We’re aware of that.” Wyatt nodded in agreement.

“Are you going to interrupt after every single thing I say or just every few?”

“Not every single one.” Wyatt nudged me. I’d forgotten how similar our sense of humor was. I loved that he was joking around. Something felt so right about that, like finding some normalcy in an otherwise completely unnatural situation.

“If you could spare me your theatrics, I will give you the pertinent information as quickly as I can.” Glendale crossed one paw over the other.

I watched Glendale. There was a time when it would have seemed absurd to be getting a history lesson from what appeared to be a talking cat, but I was long past finding anything absurd. I’d always known the supernatural existed, but I’d only known about a small subset of it. I was beginning to understand I was only shown the tip of the iceberg. Although some of the new information was good—i.e. learning about Dragos and meeting Wyatt—most of it was stuff I wish I didn’t know. I wished I could take Wyatt but otherwise go back to the far more simple life I lived before. My biggest problem back then was proving I was as strong as my brother and his friends. Everything had been so simple. It’s funny how we make mountains out of every molehill. Well, maybe funny isn’t the word, but it’s something.

“You may be asking yourselves why the name Emerald Flame.” Glendale may have accused us of theatrics, but he was using plenty of his own.

I nodded, figuring the question was of the rhetorical kind.

“The name comes from the near-mythical story of the Emerald Flame.”

“Near mythical?” I blurted out. “What makes something near-mythical?”

Glendale narrowed his eyes down to tiny slits. “I thought you were done interrupting.”

“Sorry. I thought this was an important question to ask.”

He flipped his tail back and forth. “You thought asking about my choice of words was important in the scope of what else is happening?”

“I was just confused.” Once again. That feeling was getting old.

Wyatt gently patted my arm. “Continue please, Glendale.”

“I don’t really know why I’m bothering except I do. You two are our only hope.”

“Because of the war?” I still couldn’t shake the fear the use of the word had elicited. It was a word that wasn’t used lightly in the paranormal world.

“Would you please?” Glendale arched his back.

“Sorry. I really will stop interrupting.” At least I’d try.

“Good.” Glendale’s back relaxed. “The Emerald Flame refers to a flame more powerful than any other ever seen. It can heal—but it can also destroy.”

And where was this flame seen? I wanted to ask, but I’d just promised to keep my mouth shut. I would listen.

“The Emerald Flame was kept under top security. Protected by representatives of certain powerful families who would ensure no one ever used it.”

No one ever used it? But he’d said it could heal. I had so many more questions, but I’d promised to stop interrupting.

“The flame was supposed to be protected. But it was stolen.”

“Stolen?” I couldn’t help it. Keeping my mouth shut wasn’t one of my greatest gifts.

“Yes. Stolen.”

“And what happened?” I was on the edge of my seat now.

“It was recaptured.”

“So where is it now?” I would have stopped with the questions if Glendale would say more than the absolute minimum.

“After it was recaptured it was destroyed so it couldn’t be stolen again.” He looked down.

“Destroyed? How?” Something was off. Why had Glendale looked down?

Glendale sighed dramatically. “Ok. This part might not be your favorite.”

“Whose favorite?” Wyatt asked.

“Either of yours.”

“Meaning?” I leaned back, not sure I even wanted to know.

“Meaning the Emerald Flame isn’t just a flame.”

“Uh…” A lump formed in my throat. Then something hit me. An understanding.

“I see the wheels turning in your head, Hailey. Should I say it, or you?”

I couldn’t. I couldn’t say the words out loud.

“The Emerald Flame, although no one ever speaks of it, was really a creature. Well, it belonged to a creature,” Glendale continued.

“What kind of creature?” Wyatt asked although his eyes told a different story. He’d figured it out with me.

“A dragon. An emerald dragon whose fire matched his skin.” Glendale didn’t avert his eyes this time. He looked at us both.

“So that’s why she did that to me? She thought I could be it?” He frowned. “How could I have been part of an organization and know so little?”

“You are green... just not emerald. Veronica thought you’d be close enough.” Glendale’s licked his paw. It was disconcerting when he did such animal-like behaviors. It made me question why I was listening to him. “And as to your second question, this all happened before your time in the early days of the organization. The organization remained, but it’s purpose changed to a broader one involving balance. But you both know that part of the history I presume?”

Wyatt’s whole demeanor had changed now. Any semblance of his joking was gone. “Yes, we know that part. But about the dragon, my fire is reddish-orange. Wouldn’t they have known that?”

“That’s why Randolph needs the third. He believes if he had three magic wielders to act as vessels, he can return the Emerald Flame to the new emerald dragon and use its power.”

“But is there really a truly emerald dragon? Does one exist? I know of no other Drago with the green lined wings. I assume that has something to do with it?” Wyatt’s words were rushed and spilled out together.

Glendale had no difficulty following. “Yes. You are correct. But as I said, Randolph can foresee what is to come, and he felt one was in existence. Veronica got wind of you and thought you were close enough.”

“But I’m not.” Wyatt’s hands balled into fists.

“No. You’re not emerald.”

“Is there really one?” I repeated Wyatt’s question. That seemed pretty important to the situation.

“I don’t know for sure, but my bet is that it’s a Drago yet to be born…”

“Oh, my god.” My heart just about stopped beating. “Wait. Daisy?” My brother’s wife was pregnant—very pregnant—with a Drago.

Glendale tilted his head to the side. “Maybe. Maybe not.”

“There hasn’t been a new Drago born in years!” Wyatt’s eyes darkened. “Who else could it be?”

“Don’t take your anger out on me. I am only trying to share the information I have.”

“Are they safe? We need to get to them.” I would never let anything happen to my future nephew. Never. I knew he would be a boy because there were no female Dragos. Dragos always mated with other species.

“They are safe. I’ve seen to that.” Glendale watched me carefully. “I promise.”

“Wait. What? Where did you send them?” That was the first time I’d ever heard Glendale promise anything. I hoped that meant something.

“A safe place. I will say no more. In the event you are captured, I wouldn’t want you to unwittingly put them in more danger. Like your lack of education on our history, I also assume they did not properly train you to handle torture.”

His words should have worried me. Torture? But they didn’t. All I could focus on was my brother and his family. “If anything happens to—”

Glendale cut me off. “They will be fine. Thankfully Randolph believes the emerald dragon has already been born. He believes with your help he can track it down.”

“Back to the whole third thing?”

“Yes. Back to the third thing. Which is why you need to stay far away from him.”

“I was intending to.” I shuddered thinking about being used in that way.

“And he’d use Wyatt’s help too, so Wyatt needs to stay away.”

“We weren’t planning to get close.” Wyatt put an arm around me. It did nothing to stop the shivering and fear spilling through me.

“But you will if you can’t break those bonds.”

“We’ll break them.” We had to. I couldn’t let anything happen to anyone—especially my unborn nephew.

“I will give you two some alone time.” Glendale stood.

“Alone time?”

“It might speed up the process. Wyatt can explain all that to you, Hailey. I’m a bit old fashioned when it comes to talking about such matters with a young woman.”

“Old fashioned?” I raised an eyebrow. “You? And you swear we are safe here?”

“I swear as much as a demon can.”

Wyatt crossed his arms. “Not very confidence building.”

“I want to be on the right side of this war. I also risked enough helping you with Daisy. Maybe you will understand that now.”

“Wait, you wanted the emerald dragon to be born?”

“As I told you before—the Emerald Flame can also heal.”

Heal? Was Glendale hurt? Was he worried about another?

“When will you be back?” What I was really asking was how much time did we have.

“When you’re ready.”

“And that will be…?” I needed real answers.

“When I’m back.”

“Gee, thanks for the enlightenment, Glendale.” I pulled my hair up and twisted it into a knot on the top of my head.

“I am always happy to help.” He winked before disappearing into thin air.